Strap on your e-wings: Apple has added 3D flyover to 16 more cities

China and Japan have seen other functionality improvements from Apple, too.

Chicago's 3D flyover is pretty, but I probably haven't touched it since I reviewed iOS 6 last fall.

Apple is continuing to update the functionality in its iOS Maps app, though the most significant changes may not be noticeable to all users. The Loop published a list of cities around the globe that saw expanded, updated, or just plain new 3D flyover support in the last few months, ranging from Indianapolis, IN to Lyon, France. For those iOS users who actually use flyover on a regular basis, the list is an encouraging sign that Apple is paying attention, though some of us wish the company would prioritize fixing some of its inaccurate mapping data.

The list of 16 locales that gained 3D flyover support includes Baltimore, Tulsa, the Hoover Dam, and Glasgow, Scotland. (I can't wait to zoom in and fly around the Hoover Dam every day before my morning commute.) The 14 places that saw expanded coverage are mostly European cities like Stockholm, London, Rome, Berlin, and Barcelona, though a couple US cities like Portland and Boston snuck in as well. The 12 cities receiving "updated 3D buildings for Standard view"—as well as turn-by-turn navigation—are all in Europe, covering places like Dublin, Copenhagen, Munich, and Milan. If you're looking for your specific city, it's worth checking out the full list at The Loop.

Whether these changes are significant enough to get users excited remains an open question, though. I don't know many iOS users who actually use the 3D flyover feature on a regular basis (I certainly don't), and when I performed an extremely unscientific survey on Twitter, only a handful of users reported using the feature. Still, those who do use it said they do so when they need a visual on where they're about to end up: for example, Jon Alper said he uses flyover when looking for smaller shops or possible parking, while Joel Parsons said he likes to use the feature to recognize where he's going when he gets there.

Apple's 3D flyover feature isn't the only thing that has been improved in Maps, though again, the other changes are local enough to only affect certain users. Japan, for example, now has toll road notifications and improved road pronunciation when using turn-by-turn directions. Maps in China has seen "reprioritized locations" so that more relevant places are shown first. Although it's easy to joke "people use Apple Maps?", almost a third of the 8,800+ who voted in our last survey said they are using it over the alternatives like Google Maps or Waze.

So amazing. That is, how folks who have no history here, stop by, and think anybody gives a flip about their opinion (an opinion that should have been sent via e-mail to the author or editor, rather than posted in the comments section)!

As for 3D Flyovers, they're very cool looking. Still, how about something that's actually useful, like street view? Since I don't own a hover car, I find it far more useful to have something like Street View, that gives me a solid idea what buildings I'm looking for (very helpful in areas where the skyline looks the same for miles on end).

Not only did they put in the Hoover Dam, but they also showed how low Lake Mead is relative to the Dam. We've been in a drought here in the west since 2001, nice to see it reflected in the Apple Maps tool.

How is this any different that what Google has been doing for many years now? Even if you consider the mobile platform, Google has already been there and done that. More cities as well.

Google and Apple are taking different approaches at the moment. Apple is doing 'flyover' which is a virtual 3D world that is created from photographs. (It's more like a first person shooter game.) Google is doing both 'Streetview' and angled overhead photos. (Which is more like a combination of Myst and the older Sim City games.)

Both methods have their pros and cons and to say which is best requires one to ask "what are you using it for?"

Actually I noticed huge improvement for Berlin a few months ago already. In fact I posted an error in the area where I am living (it had an outdated 2D only map) and like a month later I was surprised to see almost all of Berlin updated with new material and 3D flyover.

3D flyover is only useful if you commute to various locations in a helicopter. Since no one does that, the 3D flyover is useless eye-candy. Since everyone drives a car, the Street View is far more useful.

With as much money as this has to be costing Apple, are they really saving anything over whatever Google was asking? Plus, the Google maps app is crazy fast. As an app developer, I am constantly amazed by the thing and would love to reverse engineer it and find out what crazy mojo Google used to make it so fast. Hell, Apple could learn a few things from it.

So amazing. That is, how folks who have no history here, stop by, and think anybody gives a flip about their opinion (an opinion that should have been sent via e-mail to the author or editor, rather than posted in the comments section)!

As for 3D Flyovers, they're very cool looking. Still, how about something that's actually useful, like street view? Since I don't own a hover car, I find it far more useful to have something like Street View, that gives me a solid idea what buildings I'm looking for (very helpful in areas where the skyline looks the same for miles on end).

I've been using 3D flyover technology for several years. It's very expensive however and totally useless without tools that allow you to measure features on the ground. To see an example you can go here https://pictometry.florenceco.org/efs/p ... deb882cf99. Still however our license doesn't allow measurement tools for public use.

With as much money as this has to be costing Apple, are they really saving anything over whatever Google was asking?

I don't think the point of Apple rolling it's own maps app was ever about cost savings. It was about Apple maintaining control of the iPhone experience. Apple cannot afford to surrender a key feature of its user experience to a competitor. Remember that Google was a partner when Apple first agreed to license Maps. But after Google transformed Android from a Blackberry clone to an iOS clone, it was clear that there was a conflict of interest. If Apple is to compete effectively, it can't afford to reveal its future plans for iOS map integration to Google or rely on their cooperation.

And yet my entire region is still riddled with errors. A city 20km to the south of me has been moved about 100km north of me for example. There hasn't been a single update or fix for this area since launch.

I use apples map every day.The only joke is the lazy tech press click bait meme that it is a joke. Every head to head with google maps done in real world in USA shows they are compare favorably in results.